Fever Dreams
by LilliaJohnson
Summary: The Exile starts getting sick while the Hawk is on Dxun, forcing her to make some serious desicions about a certain pilot... Major Fluff warning. Rated T to be on the safe side of things. LSFExile/Atton. May include a sequel eventually.


AN: This is about 5 pages of pure fluff. Read only if you like Atton/LSFExile sugary goodness. I usually like to write stuff like this, but I felt like doing something happy and bright. If this sort of thing isn't what turns you on, then go back right know. It's not great, it was written in a few hours in the middle of the night. Rated T to be on the safe side.

Disclaimer: Hmmm, I've never done one of these before. I guess I thought people naturally assume I don't own anything as brilliant as Star Wars.

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Lillia dragged the back of her hand over her sweaty brow, another shuddering yawn escaping her mouth as she allowed her fingers to drag down to her neck, settling over her erratic pulse. She remembered that Dxun's heat was extreme this time of year, but the humid air had hit her hard, and her body was struggling to adapt to the intense temperature. She let a small amount of air pass through her lips, and swallowed harshly as bile rose in her throat. She covered her head with her arms, groaning, as nausea hit her again, and rolled on her side, her breathing ragged and labored.

Lying as still as she possibly could, she felt her stomach slowly settle, and tried to focus on the sounds around her rather than her sudden heat-induced fever. The Hawk was powered down for the night, leaving everything quiet other than the distant sounds of the jungle and the soft noises her friends made. She could distantly hear Mical and Visas talking about something to do with meditation while Mira and Bao argued cheerfully about the results of a pazaak game. She grinned slightly, but it faded as her stomach heaved again, and she began to breathe heavily, attempting to quell the sudden urge to start retching. The cold iron chain that hung loosely around her slender neck felt wonderful against her burning skin, and she rolled over again to face the wall, trying to steady her intake of oxygen. A sweaty tendril of crimson hair fell across her semi-lidded eyes and she reached up to push it back behind her ear.

Sleep was fast becoming impossible- the heat was becoming too much to handle and her pillow and bedding was damp with sweat, adding yet another element of discomfort. She laid there for a few minutes, finally starting to relax after a hectic- and rather bloody- day, including the unpleasant experience of gutting large amounts of the local fauna and watching as Mandalorian after Mandalorian pounded each other in the dueling circle. And all the while Atton had been casting furtive looks at her as she grew paler the more the day progressed. To make things worse, the pilot had been trying to catch her on her own for the last few days, asking for an answer the request he had made on Nar Shaddaa. It wasn't as if she would rather he didn't become a Jedi- on fact, with his natural ability to shield his thoughts and her numerous talents, he would be a great asset to the Order once it was re-built. It was simply the idea of him as a Jedi. He had little discipline, his old distrust and dislike of jedi was bound to cause trouble, he used to be a Sith, a close ally of Revan's, and the thought of him following the strict tenants of the Jedi Code was ridiculous. And of course there was the simple matter that he couldn't control himself emotionally.

After reading his mind a few weeks earlier, her opinion of his self-control had sunk to an even lower level, when she had seen the fractured and incredibly perverted images of herself while reading his mind, from his embellished, memories of their first meeting on Peragus, where she seemed to have unsurpassed beauty, to the time he 'accidently' stumbled in on her while she was changing in a Nar Shaddaa 'fresher into that absurd dancers outfit. After that onslaught of lust, she had avoided his hazel gaze for days, embarrassed and shy about what she had uncovered, keeping away from him even when he tried to corner her as she was leaving the cockpit after programming in their next destination- Onderon- into the galaxy map and trying to make her escape as quickly as she was able.

A small frown crossed her face when she heard the door to the women's dormitory slide open, her deepening when she realized that it was her pilot, and that he had bypassed the lock just to confront her about his proposal to become a Jedi. A sudden heat that had nothing to do with the sticky warmth of the moon filled her cheeks as a small, appreciative noise escaped his lips when he saw that she was clad only in her small, skimpy undergarments, and a sudden flow of lust and desire was sent along their bright, strong Force bond as he racked his eyes over every exposed piece of flesh he could see from his position. He remained where he was at the doorway, as she appeared to be resting peacefully, and Lillia found herself grateful that he at least had the decency to allow her some time to relax while wondering why he didn't simply leave her. The presence of another was so very calming, though, she couldn't bring herself to ask him to leave her, his was a soothing aura that filled her like a cool drink, and she let herself calm in his attendance, forgetting her fitful night and her aching, trembling body. And with thoughts of the scoundrel on her mind, she allowed herself to drift off.

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_The cockpit was empty for a change. They sweltering heat of the Dxun moon had faded into a comfortable temperature, for which she was grateful, and sunlight was streaming through the trasparasteel window. The only thing wrong with the scene was that the light wasn't the normal golden colour that one would affiliate with the warm summer day- it was a bright pink tinted with orange, like a Dantooine sunset. The walls were strange colours, as well, different shades of navy blue and white rather than deep grey._

_She did not remain alone for long- his boots were making soft thudding noises on the durasteel flooring, and he was strolling casually through the corridor towards her. He walked up behind her quietly before placing his hand on the small of her back, letting it rest there. She shuddered slightly at the sensation, and her pulse quickened against her will. She was about to turn around and berate him for touching her like that when she felt something soft and moist touch against her neck gently, drawing away quickly and leaving a cool wetness on her skin. For a second she remained still, shocked, before she realized that the velvety softness on her neck had been his lips._

"_Atton…" she whispered desperately, and she could hear him chuckle at her tenseness, while quietly she was enjoying the chance to be close to him… _

_She felt another shudder roll through her as he kissed her neck again, one arm snaking around her waist, the other resting on her shoulder, rubbing gentle circles into her upper arm. A breathy sigh escaped her trembling mouth as his mouth moved upwards before pulling away, his breath hot on her neck. His arm tightened around her waist, and with a quick tug, he turned her around to face him. She caught a glimpse of a small twinkle in his eyes, a soft, playful smirk playing on his lips before those smirking lips descended onto hers, gentle and teasing. She gave a small gasp that ended in a moan before responding with a passion that frightened her slightly. His hands had changed location- one was tugging at her robe, the other was rubbing her right shoulder. The kiss deepened slightly, and he backed her up against the galaxy map as he finally let her outer robe fall to the ground._

_A small whimper welled up in her throat when he tore his lips away from hers, only to begin to press them against her neck again, his teeth grazing her ivory skin. They moved from the hollow of her throat upwards, until they made contact with her mouth again. She threaded her right hand through his brown locks while her left began to tear at his jacket and outer shirt as he kissed her more fervently than before, running his tongue over her bottom lip and pressing her harder against the wall. Her clothes were being discarded quickly, as were his, falling to the ground in a heap. They joined them a moment later, the heat that swirled around them charged with electricity, with the Force, and the nervousness that was coupled with Lillia's inexperience was shunned as passion and desire began to engulf her senses and overwhelmed her emotions. They broke apart slightly, gasping for breath while she shifted nervously underneath his weight._

"_What's wrong?" he whispered breathlessly, digging his fingers into her silky hair, smiling down at her, the usual cocky grin she secretly loved._

_She looked guiltily up at him, running her hands over his chest, trying to relax but failing miserably in her attempts. "I've…never done… 'this' before… Not that I don't want to, especially with you and all, but…" She trailed off feebly and blushed deeply, trying to hide her embarrassment. Her voice had never sounded so…scared, even facing Mandalorians twice her size never caused her emotions to run this wild. _

_Atton just sighed, and propped himself up on his left elbow, looking down at her while he lifted his other hand up to caress the bare skin of her stomach. For a few moments, they were silent as Lillia enjoyed the feeling of his hands on her, while her pilot focused on the scar tissue on the muscled, toned plane. She let out a soft moan as his hand began to massage her stomach gently but firmly with his thumb, causing him to look up at her face once again. He smiled down at her, but it wasn't his usual smile. It was sincere, and sweet, and it made her feel instantly safe._

"_Then I guess I have to…" his grinned predatorily, and she felt something quiver in her stomach, " Teach you a few things." When she still looked a little uneasy, he softened, and murmured gently, "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." She opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off as he kissed her again. He ran his hand down her arm while his other hand wrapped around her neck and began to undo the fasteners of her undergarments…_

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"Lillia… hey, are you okay, babe?"

Everything was aching again. The eerie light was gone from around her, and her stomach was heaving. Lillia's eyes snapped open to stare at the dark grey was and she rolled over to find Atton sitting next to her on her bunk, looking concerned. She blushed furiously again when she noticed how closely he was sitting next to her, and remembered her dream with a horrible vividness.

"Lillia, what is it? You're sweating like crazy. You feeling okay, babe?"

She sat up, nausea returning fiercely. She open her mouth once, then closed it, shaking her head slowly. She swallowed hard, and opened her mouth again. His forehead creased as he watched her pale skin developed a greenish tinge.

She gasped slightly as her stomach lurched, and murmured, "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

The scoundrel raised his eyebrows and stood quickly, looking around franticly. Finally, he let his eyes settle on an empty plasteel cylinder at the back of the dorm, and grabbed it, placing it under her just as she emptied the contents of her stomach. When she was finished, she rasied her head to see that he had left the room. For some unknown reason, this made her feel more awful than the onset of her fever. He returned seconds later, though, with a damp towel and a small container of cold water. He knelt down next to her, smiling up at her reassuringly, and began to wipe her face with the cloth tenderly, cleaning away the sweat that had built up along her brow and poured down her face while she cleaned her hands with the freezing cold liquid he had provided for this purpose, not quite catching his eye. After a long silence, she whispered something so quietly it passed almost un-noticed by the pilot.

"What?" he asked, mystified. For a few seconds, she stared at her feet, and eventually muttered a quiet 'thank you.'

He smirked slightly, the tenderness he had displayed over the last few minutes fading into his typical roguishness. "Any time." He said simply, before his eyes widened in shock as she fell backwards onto her bunk, a sudden wave of exhaustion and queasiness hitting her hard. He stood quickly, lifted her gently into his arms, tucking his head over hers as she began to shiver worse than before. She mumbled faintly that she was alright as he walked quickly through the many corridors of the Ebon Hawk, calling impatiently for Mical to meet them both in the Medbay. He stepped inside the small room, setting the red-headed Exile on the single bed as gently as he could. It wasn't enough- she hit the metal piece at the head of the bunk, and a small moan passed through her lips just as Mical entered, closely followed by Mandalore. The young medic immediately pulled out a collection of medicines and salves from a nearby shelf as Atton placed a hand on Lillia's sweaty brow. She began to fix her bright green eyes on him oddly, and something in the regions of his heart seized. The bulky Mandalorian behind him chuckled, and said, "This is common around here. It's Dxun fever."

Mical ceased his rummaging, and looked up curiously. "I've never heard of that ailment. I take it the fever is only temporary."

Mandalore nodded briefly, and gestured towards the Jedi lying in front of them. "Yeah, she'll feel like hell for a few days- shakes, headaches, weird dreams-" (Lillia shifted nervously as he said this)"- that sort of thing. But it isn't fatal at all. Like I said, pretty common. I can go back to the base and collect a medication that'll help with the pain. Though a real warrior would suck it up…"

The older man walked off in the direction of the loading ramp as Atton glowered at him. Mical, looking helplessly through his supplies, turned to the other two people in the room and said apologetically, "Unfortunately we're low on supplies at the moment, so I'll have to wait for Mandalore to return to with his remedy." His voice lowered slightly as he knelt down next to Atton "But I will do everything in my power to ensure you are comfortable and that you are restored to full health soon."

"Yeah, thanks." Said Atton sarcastically, "Look, she doesn't need you to hold her hand."

"She is ill, I am her doctor, and it will not be 'holding her hand', I will merely be caring for her while she needs me-"

"'Needs you'?" the darker man said contemptuously, "She doesn't need you! She's got me, she'll be fine! Now why don't you go and do something useful for a change and tell the others she'll be out for a few days?"

He looked like he was about to argue, but Lillia reached out and touched his hand with her small, cold, clammy one, and murmured, "That's not a bad idea, Mical. Could you tell the others that I'll be sick for a while, and not to worry, to do some jobs for the Mandalorians if they get restless." She gave him a small, heartbreaking smile, and Mical practically beamed back at her, before shooting a distrustful glance at the pilot. She shook her head slightly, and said in the same small weak tones as she had been using all day, "I'll be fine with Atton for a while, he'll look after me okay."

The medic nodded once, before standing up and proceeding towards the main hold where the rest of the crew was assembled. Atton glared at him as he left in the same fashion that he had Mandalore, as Lillia watched him with a curious look on her pretty face.

"What is it?" he asked as she squeezed his hand lightly.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, and began to choke out words, "I've been thinking about your request over the last few days... your request to become a Jedi." He looked suddenly nervous, and she had to admit, it looked strange on him, almost as bizarre as it is to see him serious. "And to be honest, I was going to say no at first."

Anger and bitter disappointment flited over his face before it became stony, and he said in a voice filled with an almost frightening calm quality, "Alright. I get it. I do, I'm not exactly what a gal would have in mind when choosing candidates for the Jedi Order-"

She placed a finger on his lips to silence him, and tried to raise herself up to meet his level. He pushed her back down to nestle into her pillow again as he saw her cheeks pale again. She took a deep breath to stifle the sudden urge to start retching again as bitterness flavoured her mouth and continued without interuption, "But I've changed my mind."

His eyes lit up and a small, uncertain smile rose on his face as she spoke again, "I want to train you. You'll be a Jedi, I promise."

She found herself mirroring his grin, and discovered that her hand had a mind of its own- it was sliding from his mouth, along his cheekbone to hold his face in one hand. After his jubilance wore off, something occured to him. "So why the change of heart? What happened."

A small grimace appeared on her face. "I got sick, and you looked after me. Or at least, you volenteered to." She said, running her thumb across his cheek. He looked confused, and she tried to explain. "Compassion, Atton. It's an essential element of every Jedi's life. It is part of what they are. You displayed that tonight when you took care of me."

He nodded briefly, and the two sat in silence for several minutes, listening to Mira's outrage and Bao-Durs concern as Mical told them of the Exiles condition. After a rather long time had passed, he grinned down at her, and asked, his usual cocky drawl returning, "So, what were you dreaming about?" Her eyes narrowed slightly, "I mean, it must have been one hell of a wierd dream, right? Mandalore did say you're likely to experience some strange stuff while you have this fever... it causes dilusions, remember?"

"I, er, don't really remember it." she lied, trying to sound casual. He grinned wickedly, and continued, "I was sitting with you for a few minutes, you know, and it may not occur to you, but you tend to mumble in your slepp a little."

Her eyes widened as she began to stammer out an answer. "Look, Atton, I, um, I was thinking of you before I went to sleep, and... it, it wasn't in a bad way or anything! I was just wondering why you were at my door... and anyway, it wasn't anything, you know... bad, or anything..." she finished lamely, and her burst into laughter.

"Please, just shut up, Rand. I've suffered enough embarrassment for one day," she said desperatly. His chuckles subsided after a few seconds, and Lillia felt her stomach clench again. She gave a small, irritated groan as another wave of nausea rolled through her again, and she tried to fend off the urge to be sick again. Her pained expression caused his mirth to all but vanish and he saw she was shivering violently. He pulled the small blanket over her quickly to aliviate her sudden bone-deep chill and ran his hand through her hair re-assuringly. Her tremours faded almost at once, and he began to tug her long scarlet hair out of it's usual sloppy pony tail, letting it settle on her pillow. She felt tears- actual tears- whell up in her eyes as he leant forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, in the footlocker underneath my bunk there's a bunch of spare lightsabres. Take the one that feels right to you- it's yours." she said quitely to him as he drew away from her. He kissed her forehead again, whispered something in her ear, before standing and leaving just as Mandalore and Mical returned to the small, cramped medbay. She grinned as walked away, but winced when the action caused pain to shot through her head. She wiped a small rivulete of sweat from her forehead as the young medic injected her with a moss-green liquid, and turned her head to the side to stare at the wall, trying to conceal her smile. She closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep peacefully, and began to dream of the pilot that looked after her, because he loved her.


End file.
